Prior to making such delights as Hidden Folks and Wurdweb, Dutch game designer Adriaan de Jongh co-founded the studio Game Oven. They were most well-known for non-traditional gaming experiences like Fingle, which was like Twister but for your fingers on a touchscreen, or Bounden, which was a clever game that essentially “tricked" two people to dance with each other using a mobile device. These types of games were unique, especially in the mobile gaming space, because they encouraged people to actually play together in real-life and in most instances invade each other’s close quarters in a way that could be both awkward and exhilarating. In a world where we are increasingly becoming absorbed into our own individual little worlds, it was pretty cool to see games that encouraged human contact and real world participation.
It’s that sort of spirit that I can see clearly in Adriaan de Jongh’s newest game Secret Shuffle. This is a music-based party game for at least 4 and up to 60(!) players, where every player needs a mobile device, a copy of the game, and a pair of headphones. With this setup, music is used in a variety of different ways to create a number of very entertaining-sounding game modes. For instance, in the Pairs game mode you try to find the other player who is listening to the same music as you based on how they’re dancing to the beat. Or in Fakers there is one player who doesn’t have any music playing at all but is trying to act like they do by dancing around, and it’s the other players’ job to determine who the “faker" is.
One thing I think is so interesting is that Secret Shuffle is a party game, designed entirely around music and dancing, but one that is totally silent to play. It’s sort of like a silent disco or “quiet clubbing" but with a gaming component. I would love to try and play something like this with the max of 60 people, but I certainly don’t have that many friends. I’ll be lucky to scrape together 4 if I’m being honest. But whatever the case with my sad social status, Secret Shuffle sounds like loads of fun.
The game is actually out right now in the Netherlands App Store if that’s where you reside, but for everyone else the game will be launching worldwide next week on December 8th. It will be free to download, which is key for a game requiring everyone to have their own copy installed, and comes with 3 game modes and 1 music pack. A single IAP will unlock the full game with 10 game modes and 18 music packs, as well as any future modes or packs. What’s more is that only one person needs to have unlocked the full game on their device in order to be able to share the full game with all the people who are playing. Look for Secret Shuffle next week and in the meantime find out more over on the game’s website.
